1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle steering apparatus and a vehicle steering method configured and arranged to control a supplemental steering force to reduce a steering load on a driver.
2. Background Information
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-1923 discloses an example of conventional vehicle steering apparatus that is configured and arranged to estimate various inputs such as crosswinds, road cant, and poor road conditions as dynamic disturbances, and to control a supplemental steering force so as to compensate for the estimated disturbances. Moreover, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 2000-313349 discloses another example of conventional vehicle steering apparatus that is configured and arranged to calculate torque amount generated by pulling and/or shimmying of the vehicle and to suppress the pulling and/or shimmying by controlling an actuator to apply a friction force corresponding to the calculated torque amount on the vehicle.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved vehicle steering apparatus and an improved vehicle steering method. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.